2005 Miles Franklin Award Longlist

In what appears to be a first, at least for me, the Miles Franklin award people have released a "longlist" of 12 books vying for this year's award.

That list is:

Salt Rain by Sarah Armstrong The Gift of Speed by Stephen Carroll Backwaters by Robert Engwerda The Ghost Writer by John Harwood The Broken Book by Susan Johnson Sixty Lights by Gail Jones A Private Man by Malcolm Knox The Philosopher's Doll by Amanda Lohrey The White Earth by Andrew McGahan I Have Kissed Your Lips by Gerard Windsor The Submerged Cathedral by Charlotte Wood The Last Ride by Denise Young

The shortlist (generally of 6 novels) will be announced on April 21, and the winner on June 23. Matilda has featured The Gift of Speed, The White Earth and Sixty Lights here previously, and once the shortlist is announced I'll ensure I feature all books with their web-based reviews.

Interestingly none of the authors listed has won the award before. Early tip for the winner is McGahan.